crann chéad [APWC]

Epochs ago, before the giants ruled, there was the first race. In the time when our world was slipping into this realm the ‪leanaí domhan
'earth children' grew from the seeds dropped by ‪crann chéad 'first tree'.

‪leanaí domhan legend taught to the young-ones stated that the whole of the earth grew around the trunk of ‪crann chéad. That all
animals were born inside the earth, that only the ‪leanaí domhan were chosen to be seeded by ‪crann chéad on the surface. The
‪‪leanaí domhan were led by the elders. ‪leanaí domhan elders were chosen by ‪crann chéad, communicating with her
children through a type of telepathy know as the communion that went deeper than just a mental connection. Indeed, the very cells of the ‪leanaí
domhan reverberated when ‪crann chéad spoke to them.

It was an age of magic and balance, of peace and harmony. The ‪leanaí domhan were of no description fitting today's tongue. Their
civilization was built around ‪crann chéad, starting at the top. As each new generation grew they added their own living area to her. The
‪leanaí domhan continued in this manner until they spread out from ‪crann chéad and eventually covered the whole of the earth. No
matter the population the balance was always maintained. The ‪leanaí domhan had the unusual ability to store energy from sunlight in their
wings. They would accumulate energy for many seedings until the giving night came. The giving night was a ceremony that came but once a generation;
when all the ‪leanaí domhan around the world would simultaneously release the energy they had gathered into ‪crann chéad. So as
the population of the ‪leanaí domhan grew in number, ‪crann chéad would grow in proportion. In the same way as ‪crann
chéad herself grew, the number of animals birthed from within would grow, therefor sustaining the ‪leanaí domhan in their continuously
growing numbers.

After the giving night the ‪leanaí domhan would celebrate and dance as ‪crann chéad grew before their eyes. It is said that all of
the ‪leanaí domhan of the world could see their mother grow. The celebration, continuing until her growth was completed, would often last
for days. At the end of the celebration the elder ‪leanaí domhan would gather and speak with ‪crann chéad to conclude who will
become the next elder. The number of elders was never allowed to deviate from 24, the one number according to ‪crann chéad. So when the
newest elder was selected, he would take the place of the oldest elder. The elder that had seen the most ‪‪leanaí domhan seeded. The elder
who was replaced then made a journey the one sea to undertake an toradh 'the return'. The elder ‪leanaí domhan would then walk into
the one sea, and be returned into the life blood of ‪crann chéad.

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The following is the abridged tale of ascension of ‪leanbh thit 'fallen child' to elder status. ‪leanbh thit was the last elder
selected before the transition of time.

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He came to the ‪leanaí domhan in the 1,815th seeding of ‪crann chéad. He was only the 4th seeding of the new time, since the
beginning of the transition of realms. There had been whispers among the elders of a change in ‪crann chéad. It seemed she spoke through
them with a different reverberation since the transition of realms had passed the equidistance. Now since the 1,815th seeding it seemed that she spoke
in two voices, one close and familiar, and one distant and indiscernible.

Seedings had come and gone in the time since, with the young-ones growing into their roles in the society. Most would only know peace, the only
obligation issued them to feed the solar energies collected into their mother. Some would show an early affinity to speaking to the world around them.
Those who spoke to the animals would often become charmers, taking care of the herds the ‪leanaí domhan required for their own sustenance.
Those who spoke to the earth and the flora often became tenders, caring for the land and communicating with ‪crann chéad when a new living
area was required.

‪leanbh thit was the finest tender the ‪leanaí domhan had known. From an early age ‪leanbh thit showed a rare connection
to the earth. It was often seen, when ‪leanbh thit was but two seedings grown, rare flowers would grow as he walked in the fields. There were
some early warnings of his destiny. When the elders first selected him to become a tender they issued him the task of speaking to ‪crann
chéad on the assistance of creating a new living area in the far south. When ‪leanbh thit accepted the task, the elders were shocked and
bewildered to see him disappear into a rift in the earth that opened beneath him. He returned in time, claiming that he had traveled to the far south
and built the living area without the assistance of ‪crann chéad. The elders dismissed his claim, and proceeded to castigate him on his
blasphemy. However, during their subsequent communion with ‪crann chéad the elders learned of the truth of his claim, and that alarmingly,
‪crann chéad herself had not known of the new area until after its creation. This is when the distant voice could first be heard by all the
elders. Soft musings in the vibration they felt during communion with ‪crann chéad: Of her, but not from her.

The ‪‪leanaí domhan have never known struggle or fear. Never felt the sadness of losing one of their own before their time. Never felt the
rage the festered in one when understanding of this loss could not be achieved. Indeed they had never known evil in any of its manifestations. So
sadly they were not capable of seeing the darkness that stewed on the horizon. They could not understand the voice in the distance.

For another 96 seedings all seemed well. ‪leanbh thit quickly rose to the rank of first tender. The new areas he had created in his time were
the most elaborate and beautiful the ‪‪leanaí domhan had ever known. Massive dwellings rose from the deserts of the east, and grew from
the verdant hills of the west. Shimmering cities of ice flourished in the north, and ever growing, the first of his creations in the south.
‪‪leanbh thit had taken up residence in the center of this area but a few seedings after its creation. The land he claimed began to change
shortly after, rising out from the earth around it. ‪leanbh thit often had to readjust the dwellings of the other ‪leanaí domhan in
the surrounding area, lest they become inhabitable as the land rose. The area came to be know as red mountain to the ‪leanaí domhan,
originally because of the red color of the soil in the area. ‪leanbh thit's dwelling, created from a black and red wood not found in the
region, was at the very tip of this mountain. Indeed, this wood had not been seen by the ‪‪leanaí domhan for hundreds of seedings, well
before the transition of realms.

It was after the ceremony of the giving night, during the time of the 1,911th seeding, that ‪leanbh thit was selected as an elder. He was
over a hundred seedings younger than any elder ever selected. This, however, was not the problem with his ascension.

Most of the ‪leanaí domhan selected to become elder walked a clear path in their time. It was evident to any who chose to look and to all
elder that these individuals would likely become elder in their own time. They were sociable and existed well within all divergent ‪leanaí
domhan circles. Other ‪leanaí domhan would come to them with life queries, and they would temper their answers with wisdom, knowing that
their words carried weight. In this manner it also became clear that elder status was something they feared and respected, and this ensured they would
always act with wisdom in their charge as elder. This, however, was not the case with ‪leanbh thit. In his youth he shied away from the
social aspects of ‪‪leanaí domhan society. In his charge as tender his introverted nature did not waver, avoiding the gratitude of the
‪leanaí domhan common for his beautiful work. If ever asked for advice on any range of subject his answer would not change, always replying
that the requester should listen to the earth. No once in his time had ‪leanbh thit shown any desire to become an elder, indeed the duties of
the charge seemed inverse to his personality.

During the communion of the giving night a rare storm developed over ‪crann chéad, and such an event had not happened in the recent memory
of the ‪leanaí domhan. ‪crann chéad, being the mother of all, knew of the specific ‪leanaí domhan that the elders
believed they had shown their worthiness to become elder, and most often selected one of these. As the communion began the elders awaited ‪crann
chéad to speak through them, communicating her selection for ascension to the role of elder. There were reverberations but nothing that was
discernible to the elders. After some time a response was heard, but it was not in the same fashion of ‪crann chéad, it was the distant
voice. The distant voice decreed that ‪leanbh thit was to become the next elder and the the transition of realms would soon draw to a close.
That ‪leanbh thit would lead the ‪‪leanaí domhan into the next age, the transition of time.

The ceremony of the giving night during the time of the 1,911th seeding would be the last time the ‪leanaí domhan would know peace.

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